This course is for students who wish to undertake an in-depth examination of restorative justice and therapeutic justice theory and practice within the criminal justice system.
Restorative justice has been advanced within criminal justice as an alternative way of defining and responding to crime in which those most affected by an offence – the victim, the offender, and the community – come together to work out how to repair the harm caused and deal with the aftermath of the offending. As such, it is an approach to justice that can be distinguished in many ways from the traditional responses to crime – retributive and rehabilitative. The course examines the core values of restorative justice and key restorative processes; charts the history and development of restorative justice; considers some of the critical issues within the theory and practice of restorative justice, including the meaning(s) of restoration, the relationship of restorative justice to indigenous justice, its relationship to punishment and reintegrative shaming, and explores the role(s) of the victim, the offender and the community – the key stakeholders in restorative justice. The course also explores and assesses the use of restorative justice in a variety of criminal justice contexts in Aotearoa, including youth offending, family violence and sexual violence, and within and as an alternative to prison.
Therapeutic justice views the law as a healing agent and seeks to reshape the use of the law to minimise anti-therapeutic consequences and promote therapeutic consequences. In recent years, Aotearoa has expanded the use of specialist, solution-focused courts underpinned by therapeutic justice values. The course examines the core values and development of therapeutic justice, and assesses the use of specialist courts in Aotearoa, including Ngā Kōti Rangatahi (The Rangatahi Courts), Te Whare Whakapiki Wairua (The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court) and recent developments in the District Court - Te Ao Mārama.
The course content focuses on the criminal justice system in Aotearoa, with discussion of overseas examples where appropriate. The course adopts a discussion-based approach to learning. The course content is taught intensively over five days in Semester One. In Semester Two, each student will give an oral presentation to the class on the individual research topic on which they are writing their research paper, with discussion and feedback. The oral presentations take place over three days in Semester Two.